Becca Goes to the Dentist

The title of this blog sounds like a children's book, does it not? "Becca & The Berenstain Bears go to the Dentist?"

Anyone who knows me that some of my greatest fears in life are the following:

• Tornadoes
• Roller Coasters
• THE DENTIST

Seriously.

I know it's silly, but it's true. It's the noises. The sucking. The poking. The bleeding. The spitting. And everything else that goes along with the appointment. Now, I take good care of my teeth. I have always had very healthy teeth, so one would think that this phobia wouldn't even be a factor in my life. But, as luck would have it - the thought of laying in that chair with the screaming lights in my eyes scares the heck out of me.

After 4 yrs (INSERT HERE: "What the hell, Becca?!), I finally went back to the dentist. I drove around the block a few times since I was early, and then sat in my car for the remaining time until I had to walk in. I probably could have waited another year or two to make the appointment, but my more frequent headaches were an indication that the wisdom teeth are probably ready to be removed. (Who gave us wisdom teeth anyways?! It's like a gallbladder, useless. Ugh.)

Breaking a sweat in the 10 degree weather walking in the door, I made the first step to the front desk and announce I was there. My Mom & Sister have been going to this dentist, and have had recent appointments - so they knew that Big Baby Becca was going to need some special attention and patience. They even had a chair in the corner for my Mom in case I was serious about having her go with me. Ha. Thankfully, I was a big girl and went independently.

A nice woman named Becky was the hygienist. She was very nice and just kept on talking... and talking... and talking... I am not sure if she is a talker (must be a characteristic of the name!), or she just kept talking to keep me from thinking of the poking and scraping going around in my mouth. Following her part, Dr. Chitkara came in...

Dr. Chitkara said that it could probably be time to get the wisdom teeth ripped out, and that I needed to two fillings. Darn it! They weren't cavities, but they could tolerate to be filled to be on the safe side. Since I've not had a tooth ache a day in my life, I figured it would be easier to just get the filling now and not risk any type of tooth pain to follow. However, my teeth looked great and there were no major concerns. (Pretty good for my not flossing, and not being at the dentist for a few years if you ask me!)

A few days later, I was back in that dreaded chair getting my fillings. It's a good thing that office of people are nice... because I had no problem going back and the fear was slowly disappearing. Besides, the numbness of my mouth and lips were quite comical. Especially when I wanted to put on some lip gloss...

Fast forward: Friday, February 4th.

This is the day that I, Rebecca C. Warren, GETS MY FIRST TOOTH ACHE!

Seriously?!?! I was JUST at the dentist two weeks ago and now I cannot tolerate the pain in the back of my mouth. Of course, the pain hits me at 8pm on a Friday, so I am pretty much out of luck for any type of dentist visit unless I go to an emergency dental clinic. Being that I am still new to attempting to get rid of my fear, I decide to hold out until Monday. Saturday, miserable. Sunday, miserable. Took Advil, Tylenol and any other type of pain pill I could find in my house to take care of the pain. Sunday night, Heidi was in town and we went shopping. Yah, the tooth bothered me to eat dinner, but I wouldn't miss spending time with her shopping for a dumb tooth. Shopping is far more important!

Monday morning: I call Dr. Chitkara's office and beg for an afternoon appointment with him. I explain everything (without even saying who I was yet) and the receptionist goes "Is this Rebecca?" Uhhhh, yes - yes it is! The big baby! They were so kind to squeeze me into the afternoon. I tell my Mom she has to go with me because lord only knows what they are going to do to me in that chair THIS time! God love my Mother. She goes with me without batting an eye. She's the best!

I hop into that dumb chair AGAIN, and he looks around to find that my tooth is infected. Seriously. I've brushed more, mouthwashed more, and flossed more over those two weeks that I've EVER done in my LIFE! How in the world can this tooth be infected when I am ACTUALLY FLOSSING!! It's just a big sign that those teeth need yanked, and soon. He numbed me up which lasted a few hours... it was nice to have the break from pain for about 3 hrs. Flushed out my tooth and threw me onto another antibiotic. I was already on some meds for my sinus infection - so I'm doubling the pills at this point. The infection has to go away with double duty meds...

Monday night: pain.

Tuesday day: pain and call every Oral Surgeon in Columbus to see who can get me in for a consult ASAP. No one can see me to mid-March. Ugh. I finally found a guy at Riverside Hospital who could get me in on February 22nd. I took the appointment. I think that the receptionist felt bad at my sad story of my infected tooth. (She probably thinks I am dirty... I swear, I'm not!)

Tuesday night: pain and I resort to Advil PM to help me sleep through the pain.

Wednesday morning: I WOKE UP WITH NO PAIN! Yay! I went all through Wednesday with just minor pains and only took two doses of Advil. Big step!

I am thrilled that my tooth infection waited to occur until after my 1st two trips to the dentist or my Mom would have had to pull me into Dr. Chitkara's office by my ankles to get me into that chair. Knowing that my teeth are healthy (despite the wisdom teeth ordeal), and that everyone in that office is sooo nice... I may actually... dare I say it... BE OVER MY FEAR OF THE DENTIST!!!